Opener for envelops or wrappers.



No. 682,296. Patented Sept. l0, l90l. W. S. TIMMIS.

OPENER F08 ENVELOPS 0R WRAPPERS.

(Application filed Mar. 16. 1900.)

(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet I.

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\VALTER S. TIMMIS, OF BROOKLYN, NEWV YORK, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TO JAMES T. RUSSELL, OF SAME PLACE.

OPENER FOR ENVELOPS OR WRAPPERS.

SPEQIFIGA'IION formingpart of Letters Patent No. 682,296, dated September 10, 1901.

Application filed March 16, 1900. Serial No. 8,948. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, WALTER S. TIMMIS, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of the city of New York, borough of Brooklyn, county of Kings, State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Openers for Envelops or WVrappers, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to openers for envelops and is also applicable to wrappers for packages of various descriptions.-

The object of the invention is to provide an opening device that shall be so combined with the envelop or wrapper as to become an integral part of the envelop or wrapper and that will not be unsightly or in any wise require a departure from the conventional forms or shapes of the envelops in which the opener may be embodied and which will add only a slight additional cost'in the manufacture of the envelops or wrappers.

Heretofore Various means have been em ployed as openers for envelops, some of which by reason of their complications add materially to the cost of manufacture. Others are objectionable because of the time required in adjusting or applying them when sealing the envelop, while in that form of opener in which a wire is made use of the objection exists, especially in large establishments where much mail-matter is received, that the Wires when removed from the envelops and thrown upon the floor become a source of annoyance in many ways, as they are liable to cling to other objects, such as ladies skirts, for example. Where an, opener is made use of consisting of a cord having a round cross-section, it has been found. difficult to securely attach the opener to the surface of the envelop and to maintain it in position when attached. The above disadvantages I overcome by my present invention,

I for the purpose designed.

The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, which form a part of this specification, and wherein- Figure 1 is an inside plan view of a blank 'sition against the front portion.

of an oblong-shaped envelop, showing the first step in the manufacture. Fig. 2 is a similar view showing the narrow side flaps turned over onto the body of the envelop. Fig. 3 shows a view similar to Fig. 1, but having a strengthening-strip applied to one of the narrow side flaps with the opposite strip detached from the flap. Fig. 1 is a plan view of the completed envelop. Fig. 5 is a longitudinal cross-section of the envelop completed with the construction shown in Fig. 2. Fig. 6 is a similar view of the envelop completed with the construction shown in Fig. 8. Fig. 7 is an inside plan view of an envelopblank further illustrating my invention. Fig. 8 is a plan of the blank shown in Fig. '7, having the back portion brought up into po- Fig. 9 is a back view of the completed envelop shown in Fig. 8. Fig. 10 is a cross-section on the line a: 00 of Fig. 9.

'It will be observed that my invention as applied to that style of envelop having narrow side flaps and designed more especially, though not solely, for social and not business uses, consists, first, in forming the opener in the manufacture of the envelop without any-addition to the material comprising the envelop, and, secondly, in the addition of a strengthening or stiffening medium secured between the folded and pasted turned-over narrow side flaps,itl1e side flaps being pasted onto the body of the envelop and to each other and to the intermediate strengtheningstrip also when that is employed.

Referring to Figs. 1 to 6 of the drawings, in which the same numerals of reference designate the same parts in the several views, 11 indicates the front of the envelop, 11 the back, and the narrow side flaps are indicated by 12. The sealing-flap is shown at 13. The side-flaps 12 of the blank of the shape shown in Fig. 1 are supplied by the machine, which folds and completes the envclops with paste 14, such side flaps being slitted at 12 at the point of division between the front and the back of the envelop. The flaps 12 are then turned over onto the body of theenvelop and securely pasted thereto, as seen in Fig. 2. Paste 12 is then applied to the exposed surfaces of the flaps and the back 11 folded over onto the front 11 and the pasted foldedover flaps on the two portions of the envelop are firmly secured together to complete the envelop, which will appear as seen in Fig. 4, the dotted lines in this figure indicating the thickened edges of the envelop, the distance between such dotted lines at the ends of the envelop being the width of the containingspace of the envelop, as will be clear from the cross-section, Fig. 5. In opening this envelop one of the sides 12 is torn off on the line of the infolded side flaps, as indicated in Fig. 4, and this may be done without any liability of injury to the contents of the inclosure, which, as will be obvious, cannot extend beyond the line of the firmly-gummed side flaps. This mode of supplying the envelop with an efficient opening means does not detract at all from the finish of the envelop and obviously adds strength and se curity to the same.

In some cases it may be desirable to increase the rigidityand thickness of the opening means, and I provide for this by inserting between the folded-over and pasted side flaps, Fig. 1, a strip 15 of suitable material. Any strong woven fabric or fibrous material, such as strong paper, may be used for this purpose. As seen in Fig. 3, the pasted side flap, which need not be slitted at the line of fold, is provided with the strengthening-strip 15, which is of the same width as the flap and half the length of the depth of the envelop-blank, (one of these strips being detached at Fig. 3 for clearness of illustration.) When the strip 15 is firmly gummed in place, its outer side is gummed or pasted and the side flaps are folded over onto the body of the envelop, as seen in Fig. 2, and gummed thereto. The body portions of the envelop are then folded overupon each other and the edges securely gummed together to complete the envelop, which will appear as seen in Fig. 4, Fig. 6 being a cross-section of the envelop having the strengthening-strip 15 incorporated with and forming a part of the opening means. The opening means having as a part thereof the strip 15 operates in no wise different from the construction first described. It adds, however, an additional strength to the envelop and will be desirable for the larger-sized envelops made use of, for example, by express companies for inclosures of considerable weight.

Instead of applying the described opening means to both ends of the envelop it may be applied only at one end and the advantages of the invention still be retained. When applied only to one end, the opposite end would be closed by gumming the side flaps (of the construction shown in Figs. 1 to 3) to each other and to the back of the envelop or gumming them to each other and to the front of the envelop, as may be desired.

In Figs. 7 to 10 I show a modification of the mode of closing the ends of the envelop having the narrow side flaps 12 to form the opening means. In this instance the side flaps 12 of the back flap 11 are first folded over and gummed to flap 11, and the said flaps 12 are then gummed on their exposed surface. The back flap 11 is then folded onto the front flap 11, as shown in Fig. 8, and secured thereto by the gummed side flaps 12 of the back flap 11". Gum 14 is then applied to the side flaps 12 of the front 11, and such flaps are folded over onto the flaps 12 of the back 11, and thus the side flaps of the two portions of the envelop are combined together in a firm and substantial manner. The complete envelop, with its side flaps cemented together, as just described, is shown in Fig. 9, and its reinforced and thickened end may be torn off without liability of injury to the inclosure of the envelop.

While I have shown in the accompanying drawings my invention applied only to envelops as that term is commonly employed, it is obvious that the invention may be applied to wrappers for packages, which wrappers are secured around the inclosure by pasting the free end of the wrapper to seal the package.

By my invention it will be seen that no part of the opening means is exposed on the outside of the envelop or inclosed package to become accidently entangled with other packages or to be interfered with by those who may be curious to investigate its mode of operation. An envelop or package embodying my invention is as secure against accidental opening as an envelop or package not having this particular opening means, and yet may be readily opened quickly and safely with regard to the inclosed matter without the employment of any implement whatever.

In all the forms illustrated the opener is entirely beyond or outside of the containingspace of the envelop. In other words, the containing-space terminates at the inner edge of the pasted strip or section. This is important, as it entirely prevents the tearing of papers in the act of tearing off the opening device. In all the modifications the fronts and backs of the envelops are pasted together for the width of the stifiened edge, though having one or more intervening gummed flaps or strengthening-strips, or both.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. An envelop having side flaps at one end folded over onto the body of the envelop with the entire surface of said flaps securely gummed to the body throughout the depth of the front and back portions of the envelop, and also having said side flaps firmly gummed together when the back portion of the envelop is folded into position onto the front portion to complete the envelop, as and for the purpose set forth.

2. An envelop having side flaps slit at the point of division between the front and back portions and folded over onto the body of the I V W "M;

envelop with the entire surface of said side flaps securely gumrned to the body throughout the depth of the front and back portions of the envelop, said side flaps being firmly gummed together when the back portion of the envelop is folded into position onto the front portion to complete the envelop, said folded gummed flaps extending wholly beyond the containing-space of the envelop.

3. An envelop having side fiaps folded over onto the body of the envelop with the entire surface of said flaps securely gulnlned to the body throughout the depth of the front and back portions of the envelop, said side flaps being firmly gummed together with a strip of Woven fabric or fibrous materialbetween them when the back portion of the envelop is folded into position to complete the envelop.

4. An envelop having side fiaps slit at the point of division between the front and back portions, one of said side fiaps being folded over onto the inside of the front portion of the envelop and the other side flap being folded over onto the back of the envelop; the back and front portions of the envelop and the side flaps being all gummed together to form a solid tearing-strip, such strip being wholly beyond the containing-space of the envelop, substantially as herein set forth.

5. An envelop having side flaps slit at the point of division between the front and back portions, one of said side flaps being folded over onto the inside of the front portion of the envelop and the other side flap being folded over onto the back of the envelop, said envelop having a strip of woven fabric or fibrous material of the same width as the said side flaps inserted atthe end of the envelop; the front and back portions of the envelop and the side fiaps and the said strip being all gummed together to form a solid tearing-strip, such strip being wholly beyond the containing-space of the envelop, substantially as herein set forth.

Signed at New York, borough of Manhattan, State of New York, this 14th day of March, 1900.

WALTER S. TIMMIS.

Vitnesses:

J. E. M. BOWEN, M. O. PINCKNEY. 

